


Coming Home to Danger

by Merfilly



Series: Growing Up Jedi [13]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 14:37:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9239288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: Mara goes home to get help... and the danger is stronger there.





	

Mara was trying hard not to fume as she made it up to the house. First Caleb pulled his protective crap, then Depa had expressly told them to back off, because Malachor was a forbidden world. On reaching Naboo, however, she had discovered that all of the 332nd and most of the 501st were off planet with both Mom and Dad, because there had been a massacre on a world in their sector of jurisdiction.

At least Anakin was supposedly in residence with Galen, according to Echo, who didn't do much in the way of field support now. He was their garrison marshal these days, as he struggled with degradation around his cybernetics. 

"Uncle Anakin? Galen?" she called as she got inside the house.

When no one immediately answered, she pushed her irritation away, blaster coming to her hand as instinctively as she breathed. She moved through the house, forcing her voice to stay in conversational mode, even as she strained her ears for any signs and sounds to guide her.

"Echo said you two were at the house. I hope you don't think me being here is official business. I'm on holiday, and wanted to see my family." She let her eyes sweep through each room, thankful of the fairly open design as she moved, then came up against a lingering Force burst of strong emotions in the corridor leading to the courtyard that faced the lake. She kept moving, pushing through the miasma, and her eyes instantly took in the little signs of a fight. Divots in the landscape, caused by heels digging in, odd pressed direction of the grass caused by a body sliding on it… little marks added up to tell her that there had been an intense fight.

The blaster went back in its holster, and the hilt of her lightsaber replaced it as she cautiously moved out into the open area, investigating the marks she could find. The flagstones were clear of dust; she theorized a repulsor-based vessel had been on it, shoving the dust away recently. The marks in the ground told her both her uncle and honorary cousin had been fighting; she found scorches on the grass to indicate lightsaber work.

Most worrisome of all, there were two spots where the grass had not yet recovered from being pressed tight to the ground. And she could smell… something. Almost like the aftermath of a heavy storm, only the skies were clear and had been since she landed, probably had been prior to that. She tried to place the smell more clearly, and remembered the few times she had been near her grandfather in a temper for some reason.

"Force lightning," she whispered to herself. Plo was very careful to never, ever use that trait, but the older he got, the more common it was for the air to crackle with static if he was upset. She needed to let her aunt know, to send a message to her Mom, needed to get things rolling officially.

Her jaw, however, firmed, as she realized that all of this had to be aimed at making something of that awful vision finally come to pass. Anakin Skywalker had lived much of the past fifteen, sixteen years so quietly. Now that Dooku had been sighted, though, it felt like the Sith had not left off whatever plan it was that had ended when Mara killed Luke in her vision; it was just on a different path. She was not about to let that path win.

+++

Leia took on a look that Ahsoka's Mom would call 'the Skyguy glare' after Mara had told her everything, to include the background of the Vision.

"Luke told me about the vision, but he said he never knew the full extent of yours or Galen's." Leia shifted in her chair, the heavy hair piece settled on the mannequin head for now.

Mara was just glad that no one in the palace had seen her slip in, except maybe the Alderaani girl that served as Leia's handmaiden, confidante, and foster-sister. Winter was a dangerous girl in her own right, and Leia loved her enough to win the right for her to serve as handmaiden.

"I only told you to make it clear, so if things go very bad, you know to stop me, to stop Galen, should the Sith manage to get their hooks in either of us." Mara turned the glass of water around in her hands. "The Jedi are just going to tell me to leave this to them. Again. Mom and Dad are too far away to be able to investigate, and probably doing very important work anyway."

"Whereas I am the sovereign ruler of this planet, and one of its citizens as well as his ward have been attacked and removed from Naboo… you're certain of that part?" Leia asked, getting a nod. "Which means this could be termed as an act of war, depending on how I choose to handle it."

"Well, the fact he is also your father further complicates that, but yes," Mara answered.

"What can I do to help you keep this from becoming an act of war?" Leia asked her.

"Let me have access to the Palpatine archives."

Everything of Sheev Palpatine, of his family that had still existed, had been put in a locked vault under the care of Naboo, over protests from many angles, including the Jedi. However, Amidala had argued that the man was their sin, and they would keep the artifacts and other items in custody as a reminder of their failure.

Leia frowned. "That could be dangerous, Mara. The man was a powerful Sith by all accounts, and Mother says the artifacts alone made all but the most Force-blind individuals twitchy and hostile."

"But I don't know where Malachor actually is… and the location might be in there!" Mara countered. "I can't actually sense my Master or uncle Anakin beyond that they are not close… which means I can't track them that way, like Mom can. The archives are our best bet for getting the location, so I can try and get there, uninvited and unknown to anyone else."

The girl across from her wanted to give in right away; the Queen that she was, however, was cautious. Her people were at stake, and that meant considering them first, not letting her love for her father get in the way.

"Give me a full day to see if I can find Malachor a different way," Leia said, knowing it would actually be Winter doing the research. "If I cannot, then I will let you have access, for four hours, no more."

"That's fair. I know I'm asking a lot, Leia… but I think the fate of the galaxy hinges on how this all happens," Mara said.

"I'm afraid you are right."

**Author's Note:**

> Did anyone doubt that the daughter of Amidala would be elected Queen?


End file.
